SCC Gives $200K To Family Farms, Ranches

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County has announced more than $200,000 in grants to help a dozen family farms and ranches make their operations more sustainable and "climate-smart."

The latest grants were awarded during the second round of the county's Agricultural Resilience Incentive program, which offers up to $30,000 to each recipient to support compost, mulch and other climate-friendly practices.

"The ARI Grant Program demonstrates the county's commitment to addressing climate change and supporting local agriculture," said Joe Deviney, the county's agricultural commissioner. "The program enhances the ecosystem benefits of agriculture and advances our climate goals by improving soil health and sequestering atmospheric carbon."

Funds can be used to cover more than two dozen practices, including cover crops, conservation crop rotation, hedgerow planting and planned grazing, which officials said help mitigate greenhouse gases.

The county received more than 45 applications for the second year of the program, and officials hope to reach more farmers and ranchers in the coming years. The window to submit applications for the next round of funding will open early next year.

"These kinds of land management practices are essential if we are to address climate change in our region," said Julie Morris, an agricultural liaison for the county. "Although we were able to fund only a portion of this year's proposals, we hope to expand this program in the future."

Here are the farms and ranches that received grants this year:

• Golden State Farm - $30,000
• Vong Farms - $30,000
• Coyote Canyon Ranch - $30,000
• Bob Kuang Nursery - $30,000
• Mei Huan Huang - $30,000
• Lago Lomita Vineyards - $13,800
• Shun Heung Kwong - $8,400
• Rui Kuang Farm - $7,488
• Siu Lum Mok - $7,200
• Full Circle Garm - $5,700
• Han Qiang Kuang - $5,400
• Zhouping Cai - $4,800